As we have done in the past, we are providing you with a short report on the activities of Women in Black in the reporting period.
We would like to thank you in advance, in solidarity.
Street actions: Street actions:
- commemorations of important dates of crimes committed in our name
- Feminist, antifascist, anti war, antiracist and antimilitaristic actions...
This is the chronological review of these actions:
February 14th, Belgrade, street dance “One Billion Rising”: Group of independent activists, supported by the Women in Black Network, and The Network against violence against women, organized a campaign which is held on the same day, during 14 hours, across the globe. While we were dancing in the streets of our cities, we all symbolically demanded the immediate end of violence against women. Our action coincided with actions in 187 countries. “Playing in the streets, squares, public spaces show the world how strong we are together and how many of us are there! Solidarity is our strength! Solidarity is our protest against violence against women” is the message of the campaign.
February 22nd, Belgrade - Stop rehabilitation: a protest against the court rehabilitation of Draza Mihailovic, war criminal from World War II. In front of the courthouse, the members of Women in Black have pointed out the slogan “Mihailovic - genocide - Srebrenica” and “Anti-fascism is my choice.” Approximately 20 activists of Women in Black protested “due to the fact that the victims of chetnik units, under the command of Mihailovic, are denied the opportunity to face the court, and give their truth about the alleged anti-fascism of Chetniks”.
February 27th, Belgrade - 20 years of abductions in Štrpci - perpetrators unpunished, victims of unrecognized - ommemoration of the crime in Štrpci, where, on February 27th 1993, at 3.48 PM, members of the armed forces “Avengers” from the Army of the Republika Srpska kidnapped 19 passengers, all non-Serbs (18 Muslims and one Croat) from the train 671, going from Belgrade to Bar, at Štrpci station, 230 km from Belgrade. Women in Black, the Humanitarian Law Center and Youth Initiative for Human Rights marked the anniversary of the abduction Štrpci in front of the Belgrade’s main railway station on February 27th. The commemoration began at 15.30. So far, only Nebojsa Ranisavljević is convicted of this crime, the abduction of 19 citizens of Serbia and Montenegro. Serbia still did not recognize these victims as civilian victims of war. The action was attended by approximately forty activists. The participants called upon the government to change the law, after 20 years of neglect of the victims’ families and the non-recognition of responsibility for the crime, especially regarding the rights of the civil war invalids, and express elementary responsibility and solidarity with the victims and their families.
March 8th, Belgrade – Women’s March “Why the state sleeps while my labour rights are violated”“The law is a dead letter, I want to live from their work”: the action for the working women’s rights organized by the Women in Black Network Serbia and Reconstruction Women’s Fund. This year’s campaign points out the vast diff erence between the rights envisaged in the Law and the daily practice of endangering women’s labour rights. Protest action began with the testimony of a group of women who were reading texts in the central city street, about the violations of labour rights of women from diff erent parts of Serbia. The march, which took place the central city streets, was accompanied by the drummer, and attended by over 200 people. The event was continued at the Center for Cultural Decontamination, with homage to the continuity of women’s resistance, and the play “Working Women’s Rights,” performed by SOS Vlasotince.
March 21st, Belgrade - Rebel racism - resist!: On the occasion of the International Day against racism, a week of European action against racism and during the month of Roma Women’s Activism, Women in Black, together with Reconstruction Women’s Fund organized anti-racism protest in front of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, indicating the racism that is refl ected primarily in relation to the Roma population and other minority communities in Serbia (ethnic, sexual and other minorities). This action was attended by dozens of women who have carried the banners of diff erent colours on which was written “We will not be defeated!”, “We will not let that intimidate us!”, “Resist racism” and “We say without doubt: Stop racism “.
March 21st, Novi Becej - Women’s anti-racism march: Regarding the above mentioned date, Women in Black, together with the Roma Women Network Banat organized march against racism in Novi Becej downtown, during the freezing rain and the wind. During the march, which was attended by about a hundred of Roma activists and the activists from other groups, the participants expressed solidarity with the slogans “We are all Roma”, “Stop Racism, and stop discrimination”, “Against racism, resist racism”. After the march, Roma Women Network Serbia organized a theatre performance, made by RWNS activists, supported by the artists from Dah Theatre, as part of the campaign “All that I am”. The campaign aims to break down prejudices and stereotypes about Roma women and points to the richness of identity and diversity. Performance is held at the local cultural centre, and was attended by over a hundred people.
April 23rd, Belgrade - "Why": Activists of Women in Black joined, at 2,06 AM and 2,06 PM, the members of families, colleagues and friends of 16 RTS employees, who were killed in 1999, during the NATO attack on RTS building. In front of the monument “Why?”, at Tasmajdan park in Belgrade, they laid fl owers to 16 killed workers of RTS, for whose death is convicted only former RTS director Dragoljub Milanovic, for milder off ense, with mild punishment. Families of the victims fi led a request for extension of the indictment on April 30th 2009, upon which, up to this day, no one reacted. Women in Black are one of 25 organizations, members of Serbian civil society, that joined the request of the Centre for Euro-Atlantic Studies from Belgrade (CEAS) and Žanka Stojanovic, the representative of families of employees of Radio Television Serbia (RTS) killed in the NATO bombing in 1999, made on January 18th 2013, to include the case of death of RTS workers in the mandate of the international commission for investigation of the murders of journalists Dada Vujasinovic, Slavko Ćuruvija and Milan Pantic. In one year, the case will be out of date; hence the decision to include the case of death of RTS workers in the mandate of the commission is even more important.
Facing the past/ Transitional justice – feminist approach
This is one of the most important activities of Women in Black. It consists of many segments: street events, workshops, lectures, creating diff erent models of transitional justice from a feminist point of view, and the cooperation with similar organizations in the form of joint actions (campaigns, consultative meetings)...
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Report on our activities in pdf.
